An extravagant chandelier hangs on display at Hagen’s Lighting. (Victor Texcucano/Staff)

 

Shane Hagen never thought he would go into the family business.

Most of his family members are local entrepreneurs, but he had other plans.

Hagen’s grandmother, Melba Dahl, started Hagen’s Supply in Longview in 1955 and supplied lights and other wholesale merchandise to electricians, as well as large commercial and industrial projects, Hagen said.

Ms. Dahl was married to Hagen’s grandfather, the late Carl Hagen, at the time she started the business. In 1965, she changed it to a lighting and appliance store.

“As far as Longview went, it was the only place,” he said. “If it came to light fixtures for a house, you went to see my grandmother.”

In the 1970s, Hagen said his grandparents split up and Ms. Dahl kept the business while Carl Hagen opened a similar store and became her competitor.

“It didn’t last, them being in competition,” Hagen said. His grandfather’s business became a fireplace shop and closed a couple of years ago after his death, he said.

In 2004, Hagen’s father, John Hagen, bought Hagen’s Lighting from his mother and Hagen soon began running it for him. He has owned it for two years.

In 2007, Hagen’s Lighting expanded, opening a second store in Tyler. About a year later, the Longview store closed and the two shops consolidated.

The business moved from a shopping center on South Broadway Avenue, next to Hastings, to Old Jacksonville Highway in September.

The 8,000-square-foot space is three times the size of the old store, he said. While they rented the other space, they now own the building that took nine months to construct.

“We wanted something bigger, better and brighter,” he said. “It showcases our lighting a lot better.”

Hagen, of Liberty City, said they picked the spot on Old Jacksonville because “it’s where everybody is. It’s definitely the fastest growing part of Tyler.”

He said business has picked up since the move and a lot of people who didn’t know they were in Tyler have since found them. A lot of their clientele drive up and down the highway so they are getting a lot of pop-in business they’ve never gotten before, he added.

Hagen’s lighting offers a variety of light fixtures, ceiling fans and lamps, as well as task lighting, which includes lights under cabinets, landscape lighting and commercial lighting.

“We carry the full spectrum. … We are a specialty shop,” he said, adding that if they don’t have something in their store, they can special order it.

Light fixtures can run from $100 to $20,000 and come from all across the world, he said.

Hagen’s Lighting does a lot of builder business and has a lot of repeat customers, including people who come in regularly to buy light bulbs.

Two big changes Hagen has seen in the market through the years are the push for LED lighting and people wanting more modern, contemporary lighting.

Before working for and buying Hagen’s Lighting from his dad, Hagen sold nuts and bolts for his father’s other business, Hagen’s Fasteners, in Longview.

“This is a better fit for me,” he said. “There’s not a lot of glamour in nuts and bolts.”

Nearly everyone in his family owns a business. His aunt owns Drug & Alcohol Testing of East Texas, which has locations in Tyler, Longview, Wichita Falls and Bossier City, La., while another aunt owns several rental properties.

Hagen said his father worked at the Hagen’s Lighting growing up with his three sisters and did “whatever grandmother forced them to do.” But Hagen never worked at the store and never thought he would be involved in the family business.

He said he passed on taking it over but after his father bought it, it just kind of happened.

“One day it sounded like a good idea,” he said.

Hagen is glad he changed his mind.

“I really enjoy the lighting business,” he said. “I never expected to do so.”

Hagen’s Lighting has six employees, including Hagen’s wife of 11 years, Trina, who works in sales. They have two daughters, who are 9 and 4 and are often in the store when not in school. He said he hopes to pass down the business to them one day if they are interested.

“I do a little bit of everything,” Hagen said of his work at the company. “My goal is for me to be able to focus on commercial and high-end residential jobs.”

He said 80 percent to 85 percent of their business is residential, but they hope to grow the commercial side.

“I think there’s a niche there I can help with,” he said.